Starman: The truth behind the legend of Yuri Gagarin

Sat 19th March, 6 - 7pm

Fifty years ago, on April 12 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in history to leave the Earth's atmosphere and venture into space. Learn about the man who made this historic trip, in a fascinating talk by his biographer Piers Bizony.

An icon of the 20th century, Yuri Gagarin led a jet-propelled life, from his roots as a poor boy in the Russian village of Klushino and his early life in Nazi-occupied Russia through to the perilous early years of the Soviet space programme. But after his famous spaceflight, the Russian cosmonaut's life descended into turmoil - torn apart by powerful political and emotional pressures, with his private life was in ruins, he was rebelling against the cruelties of a corrupt totalitarian regime when he was killed in an aircraft crash in 1968 at the age of 34.